This is a continuation of a multiple-post-series based strictly on my personal research, especially through the book Making Babies. See here for
#1: The Basics and here for
#2: Lifestyles of the Naturally Fertile.
Destressing
Stress Reduction Throughout Your Cycle
Phase 1 (Menstruation)- Naturally, we have low energy during this phase. Stay home and cocoon. Also, we can feel disappointment from a failed cycle. Try to focus on the long-term and make a plan for this new cycle. Start fresh and keep optimistic.
Phase 2 (Pre-Ovulation)- During this phase, we often feel positive feelings of well-being and have a higher energy level. Take walks with your husband, go out on dates, and talk about the future.
Phase 3 (Ovulation)- We hold onto feelings of well-being, but can also feel anxiety and pressure about conceiving. Try to incorporate a few relaxation techniques into this phase.
Phase 4 (Potential Implantation)- We often feel anxious, awaiting the result of the cycle. Reflect on positive images and memories.
Visualization Throughout Your Cycle
Sit on a chair with your feet touching the floor. Inhale, imagining breathing light into your body. Exhale, imagining breathing light out all around you. Finish by imagining yourself under a waterfall, the cleansing water passing over and through you, taking with it any problems, worries, or health issues.
Phase 1- Turn your attention inward, focusing on your uterus. Imagine the lining leaving, creating a smooth surface. Visualize the blood vessels leading to your uterus and blood flowing through them to replenish it with a new supply of blood.
Phase 2- Imagine 10-20 small follicles growing on your ovaries. Visualize one follicle becoming dominant. See it receiving all the resources it needs from your body. See it growing. Feel the potential this follicle holds.
Phase 3- Focus on the dominant follicle on your ovaries. Imagine the egg emerging from the follicle and being squeezed out until it is sitting on the surface of the ovary. Visualize the egg being gathered up by the end of the fallopian tube. See the egg being met by sperm. Imagine a sperm merging into the egg. Imagine the fertilized egg on a journey to the uterus.
Phase 4- Turn your attention inward, focusing on your uterus. Imagine the embryo arriving in the uterus and burrowing into the uterine lining. Visualize the embry drawing nourishment from the uterus' rich blood supply. Turn your attention back to your ovaries and see the ruptured follicle that the egg left behind. Imagine this follicle secreting progesterone to maintain the pregnancy.
Methods of Destressing
- Take a day to prioritize your day-to-day activities and schedule in relaxation time
- Weed out things that stress you out or are time wasters
- Yoga
- Trade 5 minute massages with a loved one
- Get creative with painting, drawing, etc.
- Take a walk
- Play an instrument
- Pay compliments to others
- Cook a meal from scratch
- Play. With a pet. A child. Your husband.
- Volunteer
- Meditate or pray
- Pedicure/Manicure
- Call a friend
- Take a mental vacation to the beach, Italy, or the mountains
- Write a poem
- Choose one room in your home a day/week to declutter and clean
- Blow bubbles
- Cook a meal for a friend
- Listen to harp music or other soothing tunes
- Take a bath with essential oils
- Go to the zoo
- Memorize scriptures that are comforting
- Get lost at a bookstore/library
- Focus on head to toe relaxation while lying still
- Go shopping
- Quiet your inner critical voice
- Get your hair done
- Drink a cup of warm tea
- Take time to look out the window
- Be a tourist in your own state for a weekend
- Calm your breathing, slow your mind
- Write out a list of daily things you are grateful for
- Have a movie and popcorn evening
- Exercise
- Immerse yourself in a scent you love
- Savor a piece of dark chocolate
- Focus on a hobby
- Have a family reading hour
- Light candles
- Surround yourself with beauty- a painting, an old love letter, a desktop image, a color
- Eat your meals at the table and have family time, focusing on each other
- Flirt with your spouse
- Drink a glass of cool water
- Play a game with loved ones
- Smile. Laugh.
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Coming soon: Fertility types, PCOS, and Fibroids. Stay tuned!
